Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To cause to lose enthusiasm or resolution; disillusion or discourage: synonym: discourage.
  • transitive verb To upset or distress.
  • noun A sudden or complete loss of courage in the face of trouble or danger.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To break down the courage of, as by sudden danger or insuperable difficulty; overcome with fear of impending calamity or failure; fill with despairing apprehension; utterly dishearten: usually in the past participle.
  • To defeat by sudden onslaught; put to rout.
  • To disquiet; trouble: usually reflexive.
  • Synonyms To appal, daunt, dispirit, deject, frighten, paralyse, demoralize.
  • To be daunted; stand aghast with fear; be confounded with terror.
  • noun Sudden or complete loss of courage; despairing fear or apprehension; discouraged or terrified amazement; utter disheartenment.
  • noun Ruin; defeat; destruction.
  • noun Synonyms Apprehension, Fright, etc. (see alarm); discouragement.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb obsolete To take dismay or fright; to be filled with dismay.
  • transitive verb To disable with alarm or apprehensions; to depress the spirits or courage of; to deprive or firmness and energy through fear; to daunt; to appall; to terrify.
  • transitive verb obsolete To render lifeless; to subdue; to disquiet.
  • noun Loss of courage and firmness through fear; overwhelming and disabling terror; a sinking of the spirits; consternation.
  • noun Condition fitted to dismay; ruin.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A sudden or complete loss of courage and firmness in the face of trouble or danger; overwhelming and disabling terror; a sinking of the spirits; consternation.
  • noun Condition fitted to dismay; ruin.
  • verb To disable with alarm or apprehensions; to depress the spirits or courage of; to deprive of firmness and energy through fear; to daunt; to appall; to terrify.
  • verb To render lifeless; to subdue; to disquiet.
  • verb To take dismay or fright; to be filled with dismay.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb fill with apprehension or alarm; cause to be unpleasantly surprised
  • verb lower someone's spirits; make downhearted
  • noun the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
  • noun fear resulting from the awareness of danger

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English dismaien, from Anglo-Norman *desmaiier : probably de-, intensive pref.; see de– + Old French esmaier, to frighten (from Vulgar Latin *exmagāre, to deprive of power : Latin ex-, ex- + Germanic *magan, to be able to; see magh- in Indo-European roots).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English dismayen, from Anglo-Norman *desmaiier, alteration of Old French esmaier ("to frighten"), from Vulgar Latin *exmagare (“to deprive (someone) of strength, to disable”), from ex- + *magare (“to enable, empower”), from Proto-Germanic *maginan, *maganan (“might, power”), from Proto-Indo-European *mēgh- (“to be able”). Akin to Old High German magan, megin ("power, might, main"), Old English mæġen ("might, main"), Old High German magan, mugan ("to be powerful, able"), Old English magan ("to be able"). More at main, may.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word dismay.

Examples

  • So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?

    Page 2 2007

  • So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?

    Page 2 2007

  • So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?

    Page 2 2007

  • So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?

    Page 2 2007

  • So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?

    Page 2 2007

  • So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?

    Page 2 2007

  • So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?

    Page 2 2007

  • So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?

    Page 2 2007

  • So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?

    Page 2 2007

  • So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?

    Page 2 2007

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.